


The Lady in Question

by lea_hazel



Series: Decline and Fall [20]
Category: Seven Kingdoms: The Princess Problem (Visual Novel)
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Backstory, Canonical Character Death, Crushes, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Jealousy, Male-Female Friendship, Past Violence, Rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:40:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21747670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lea_hazel/pseuds/lea_hazel
Summary: While at Glassmere, Verity finds herself itching for new society.
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Decline and Fall [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/946446
Kudos: 2





	The Lady in Question

Lady Elyssen was fully aware that her grief made her a poor conversational partner, and was determined to play the part of hostess to perfection, nonetheless. Whether it was out of a genuine desire to please the royals, or a dread of their obscure wrath, Verity couldn't know for certain. To make up the lack in her own self, she invited guests to the dinner table almost every single night they dined at Glassmere. Most of the noble houses in the neighborhood were not nearly so lofty as the Ajah family, and so the guest roster was often limited to the other two great households who, along with Glassmere, ringed Lost Lake.

Old Duke Wendell was a surprisingly charming man, but he wearied easily, and his daughter was often preoccupied with her young children. General Darius would invariably spend his evenings locked deep in frowning conversation with the King. It was left to his sister, Lady Kallis, and her children to carry the lion's share of the entertainment. The latter ranged in age from sixteen to twenty five, and were as rowdy a party of young people as Verity had ever met. The effect was only enhanced by the great turnaround of young guests they entertained at Merrotayne.

The middle-born Lady Kallis, Cecily, was a great beauty, and her many beaux made up the bulk of the rotating crew of visitors. Least welcome of them, at least in Verity's eyes, was her husband's lately friend, the odious Benedict. Cecily seemed to find him dashing. Neither her mother nor General Darius could see fault with his constantly currying around her, although at least her elder sister Mhairi treated him with sniffing, disdainful suspicion. Otherwise, Verity had very little opinion of either the Kallis siblings or the company they kept.

Until the night they arrived to supper with an unexpected guest.

Verity could tell she was different at a glance. The Kallis family were as fair in their coloring as the royal family -- as, indeed, almost all of Revaire's new nobility. Verity often felt that she stood out among them like a sore thumb. The intriguing guest stood out just as much, albeit to much better effect. Against the pallor of her seat-mates, her skin glowed a rich coppery brown, and her eyes were wide and dark. Even her hairstyle did not resemble Cecily's sculpted coiffure, nor Mhairi's single long braid. Her dark hair floated around her head like a soft, black cloud.

When she was introduced, she at first ducked her head and curtsied meekly, but the moment Lady Elyssen averted her gaze, she caught Verity's eye and smiled a wide, impish smile.

"Lady Brielle Blanchette, Your Majesties," said Lord Tristan, a perfunctory smile barely marring his somber face. "A distant relation of Duke Wendell, I believe."

"Among other things," said Lady Brielle, flashing a grin that disappeared almost too quickly to track, to be replaced by small, serene smile. "Your Majesties."

The King looked her up and down with a kind of hard-faced nonchalance, as though he could uncover all her secrets at a glance. Lady Brielle withstood the scrutiny with something like aplomb, just long enough for him to utterly lose interest and turn back to his conversation with Darius. Jarrod's attention was no less pointed, but much more vulgar and obvious. It was to be expected. Brielle was very pretty, and Jarrod could never be in the presence of a pretty girl without making his attention known, however briefly.

"Lady Brielle," said Gisette in her most honeyed voice, deftly cutting through the tension that threatened to interrupt the dinner conversation. "You simply _must_ introduce me to your dressmaker. Your gown is so... _innovative_. I've never seen such a design."

Cecily giggled and Mhairi tittered, but Brielle was not to be so easily fazed. Her smile was easy and her face open as she answered the Princess, as though she had not said anything more than she appeared to. Still, it was obvious, at least to Verity, that there was a sharp mind hiding behind her wide, soft doe eyes.

As they were seated on opposite ends of the dinner table, Verity had few opportunities to converse with Lady Brielle, on the first night of their acquaintance. Still, she felt her eyes drawn back to her more than once, throughout the evening. She felt sure she wasn't the only one. Lady Brielle was animated in her conversation, engaging her seat-mates effortlessly. The Kallis girls and their mother all listened to her eagerly, and she even managed to coax a few smiles from the grave and careworn dowager of the house. In Verity's book, that was a virtue in itself.

"I hope you will be joining us again soon, Lady Brielle," she said, when it was time for the latter to part from them. "The ladies looked one and all delighted by your conversation, and I should like to judge for myself if their taste holds up to scrutiny."

Lady Brielle laughed brightly. "You flatter me, surely, Your Highness," she said, very correctly. "I do hope to accept any future invitations from the gracious Lord Ajah."

"We would be delighted to host you, milady," said Lord Tristan, his mouth twitching.

"Merit would like her, I think," said Verity in undertone, once the lady in question had alighted her carriage.

"Everyone seems to like her," said Tristan.

She raised an eyebrow. "You object to the lady?"

He shook his head. "I see no reason to," he replied, "but people who are very charming conversationalists are not always so charming, when you scratch the surface."

It was an astute observation, no doubt, but something about it bothered Verity, something she couldn't name.

* * *

The Queen had forewarned Verity that the royal party would not remain in Glassmere for the duration of the summer. The purpose of summering at Lost Lake was to pay visit with the local nobility, not to overburden them with the task of entertaining the royal family. After a month of the Ajah family's hospitality under the mantle of their quiet, lingering grief for a lost father and brother, they were to set their sights on General Darius's estate, Merrotayne. Having gained some knowledge of the great house's inhabitants, Verity was expecting their stay there to be as exhaustingly lively as Glassmere wasn't.

Lady Brielle's presence did something to smooth the transition, and allay Verity's concerns. Once she had made her introductions properly, she was seldom to be found anywhere but in the company of the Kallis sisters. Mhairi and Cecily, who could agree on no other subject, both seemed equally captivated with her, and sang the praises of her sparkling company. Verity had to admit to herself that she was more than a little caught herself. Brielle was frightfully easy to talk to, and more than once she had to work double to resist the temptation of saying more than she'd intended to.

"I think she has a face that invites confidences," she said privately to Lord Tristan, on the evening before their departure from House Ajah.

"Faces such as that are to be wary of," said Tristan gravely.

It was too late, and the evening too chilly, to go down to the kennels and visit the puppies, so Verity contented herself with the fresh air of the balcony. At such a late hour, there were very few windows lit in the house, and none down in the village. Stars clustered thickly in the velvety sky, like an overstuffed confection. She knotted her shawl more securely and tipped her head up to look at them.

"Funny," she said, "it's usually young men who are cautioned not to be taken in by a girl's pretty face, but it seems the Kallis sisters have been just as susceptible as their brothers, if not more so."

"Lady Brielle," said Tristan carefully, "does not seem to be searching for a husband, if her actions are to indicate. You think she's pretty?"

"I doubt there's much disagreement on the question," she replied. "As different as she looks from Cecily. I wonder that Cecily doesn't resent her in the least, for her beauty. People are certain to gossip."

"If indeed Lady Brielle keeps her sights off the young men who curry Lady Cecily's favor," said Tristan reasonably, "what reason has she to resent her beauty?"

"Young gentlemen don't make up a quarter of the reason why young ladies make themselves beautiful," said Verity.

Tristan sighed and shrugged. "I would know the least. Merit has no interest in making herself pretty for anyone, and I have some years yet before I have to worry about Fran."

"You worry too much," said Verity lightly. "You--"

He frowned. "What is it, Princess?"

Verity shook her head firmly. "Nothing," she said. "I was going to say you remind me of someone I know, but then I realized you actually remind me of several someones."

"You're uncommonly well-acquainted for someone who calls herself sheltered, Princess," said Tristan.

She laughed, and Tristan couldn't help but crack a very small smile.

"Perhaps some day you could make introduction to me," he said. "I suspect anyone in your circle of friends is well worth knowing."

This was a novel and interesting thought, and Verity tucked it away in a pocket of her mind, for later contemplation. For the moment, she smiled cryptically and said, "Perhaps I shall."

"Perhaps we should return," he suggested. "The evening is growing chilly, and we're both expected for drinks and so on."

"Yes," said Verity. "I had been meaning to finish a short letter to an acquaintance back in Arland. I suspect Merrotayne will afford me very little time for lengthy correspondence."

"You can say her name, if you like," replied Tristan softly. "You mean my late brother's intended, I suppose. Lady Estelle?"

Verity sighed. "Perceptive man. How did you guess that? I _do_ have other friends in Arland, but very well. Since you're so astute, I must admit it. The poor girl was devastated, and I may have taken up a correspondence to reassure her."

"That was kind of you to do," Tristan started to say, and then all at once he straightened up and added, "Your Highness."

It took Verity half a heartbeat to realize that he wasn't addressing her.

Jarrod was standing in the open doorway to the gallery beyond, his face deep in shadows. Either he had finally learned to tread more softly, instead of stomping about like an ill-tempered elephant, or she had been more engrossed in her conversation than she realized. Verity shivered. Jarrod took another half-step out onto the balcony, where the scant moonlight did very little to scatter the shadows that enveloped him.

"What are you two doing out here?" he demanded to know.

"Talking," said Verity, making no particular gesture to civility.

"You should know better than to skulk around dark corners with strange men," he huffed.

"I wanted to look at the night sky," said Verity. "Since I remembered how you dislike stargazing, I asked the Viscount if he would oblige to accompany me."

Jarrod shuffled his feet. "Well, you shouldn't be alone out here with him, anyway," he complained and, turning to Tristan, added, "and you should know better."

Tristan bowed graciously and replied, "Of course, Your Highness. I shall retire and leave Your Highnesses to your privacy."

And he did just that.

Verity kept her eyes fixed on Jarrod throughout. "Did you really need to do that?" she asked softly, once she was certain that Tristan was out of earshot.

"I couldn't find you anywhere," said Jarrod, throwing up his hands.

"Why were you looking for me?" asked Verity.

"I wasn't!" he replied. "I was looking for Tristan, and look, now he's gone. Why'd you have to go and do that, Verity?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, which he probably could not see. "I'm not the one who drove him away," she said. "And by the way, if you think Tristan would ever attempt something untoward, then you clearly don't understand the first thing about him. Now, why were you looking for him?"

"To get him to come and play cards with the rest," said Jarrod. "It's dull when there's only four of us."

Verity nodded. "Go and find him, then," she said. "He can't have got far."

He started to leave, then paused and turned back to her. "What were talking about, with Tristan, before I showed up?"

"Lady Estelle," she answered crisply.

She didn't have time to wonder whether Jarrod even remembered that that was the name of Adalric's bride, or whether he knew, as she did, that his sister was responsible for the Ajah family's tragedy. His forehead crumpled into a frown and he nodded abstractly before turning to leave. Whatever reaction her answer had provoked in him, she wouldn't have to deal with it tonight.

The whole encounter was exhausting, and left a bad taste in her mouth. When she rejoined the ladies in the drawing room, the Queen was just beginning to pour the cordial. She looked Verity up and down with a critical eye and pronounced that the best thing for her was an early bedtime. Not feeling up to the chatter late into the night, Verity didn't put up much of an objection to her mother-in-law's pronouncement. Still, as she was making her goodbyes, she caught Lady Brielle watching her covertly with a speculative look on her pretty face.


End file.
